Boxed In
by pwoperbellamy
Summary: How would you react if you were trapped in an elevator with Matt Bellamy?


I glanced at my watch, smiling at the digital numbers. "Time for lunch!" I said happily, shutting down my computer and grabbing my coat as I left the office. Ever since the new Italian restaurant, Pasta Belly, opened down the block from the law firm I work at, I've been dying to try out the food. I am a true pasta lover. My parents have pictures of me as a little girl with sauce smeared all over my face and noodles in my hair. Of course I don't do that anymore, but I still love a good plate of pasta.

I stopped by my secretary's desk. "I'm heading out now Amber!" I said happily. "I will be back around one even though my next client is arriving at two." Amber smiled at me from her computer. "You work too much! You don't have many cases this week, yet you are still staying late each night to work on them. Take a longer break."

I laughed and shook my head as I approached the elevator. "Lawsuits happen every day Amber. People will sue for anything nowadays!" I pressed the 'Down' button and the elevator doors opened. I stepped inside the empty elevator and gave Amber a wave as the doors shut.

The elevator made it down three floors before the doors opened again. A man in his thirties stepped inside. I held back a squeal of surprise and happiness. _Holy Bellamy!_ I recognize that messy brown hair and shockingly blue eyes anywhere! I was in the same elevator with Matthew Bellamy, lead singer/guitarist/pianist for my favorite band Muse! There is a magazine company a few floors below my firm, so Matt must have been giving an interview or something. I tried to rein in my inner fangirl and compose myself.

Matt gave me a little smile before pressing the 'Close' button. "Good afternoon", he said quietly. I smiled back and nodded to him. _What should I do? What should I say?_ What are the odds of meeting one of your musical idols on the elevator, with no other people around? Would it be appropriate to ask for an autograph? I'm sure he gets pestered enough by fans and paparazzi, especially since he is in a relationship with Kate Hudson. On the other hand, based on other fans' stories, he was a nice guy that was willing to take time to be with his fans.

Before I could decide what to do next, there was a strange whirring noise above us. I've been working in this building for years and I know what does and does not sound normal. We both looked up as the lights flickered on and off. Suddenly, the entire elevator stopped and shook roughly, knocking us to the ground. I ended up head-butting Matt on the way down, both of us groaning and rubbing our foreheads.

"Sorry Matt", I muttered, forgetting that he never introduced himself. Matt gave a small laugh and held out his hand to help me up. "It's nothing", he replied. We looked around the elevator. The lights had dimmed and the display screen that told which floor we were on read '95'. There are only twenty floors in this building. The elevator had also stopped moving.

"Umm, I think the elevator stopped working", I said. Matt looked concerned. "There's an intercom here", he said, going over to the control panel and pressing a button. There was some static noise for a few seconds until a man answered.

"Are you okay?" he shouted. Matt and I held out hands over our ears. "Jesus!" Matt grumbled. "Yes, we are fine. What happened?"

"One of the cables became overheated and shut down, messing with the system." I thought of our elevator car hanging by a thread over endless space. "Don't worry", the man added. "Our technicians are working on it and the fire department is on its way. We have you guys securely fastened. How many of you are in there?"

"Two", Matt answered.

"Any pregnant women there?" Matt gave me an embarrassed glance. "You don't look pregnant", he said to me. I smiled. "I'm not."

"Nope, no one is pregnant."

"Okay, good. Stressful situations like these could cause women to go into labor. Everything will be-." The man's voice was cut off by a loud banging noise. Matt tried pressing the intercom button again, but there was no answer.

"Well, we might as well make ourselves comfortable", Matt said, sliding to the ground and taking out his iPhone. He dialed a number and held the phone to his ear. "Kate? Hi sweetheart. Yes, the photo shoot went well. A little problem though. I got on the elevator and it broke down." Matt held the phone away from his ear as hysterical talking came from it. "Shh, it's okay sweetie. They're working on it and we should be out in no time. Who?" Matt looked at me and whispered, "What is your name?"

"Ashley", I replied. "I am with a woman named Ashley. Yes. Okay, I will see you once this gets fixed. Give kisses to Bing and Ryder for me. Love you." Matt turned off his phone and smiled at me. "Don't be shy", he said, patting the floor next to him. The floor seemed clean and since there was nowhere else to go, I sat down next to him.

"My name is Matthew", he said, holding out his hand. "I kind of knew that already", I said, glad that Matt couldn't see me blush. "Ah, a fan. Lucky I got stuck on the elevator with you then."

"I could say the same thing", I replied without thinking. Matt giggled and rubbed his eyes. "What were you going to do before this fiasco happened?"

"I was on my way to get some lunch", I said.

"Anything interesting?"

"There's this Italian place down the block from here called Pasta Belly." Matt gasped. "I _love_ pasta!"

"Same here. It just opened and I've been dying to go there."

"Not to brag, but I can make a mean pasta dish. Everyone says they love it and they demand the recipe. Maybe I should become a chef."

"But what about your fans?" I joked.

"I can do both. I can sell my meals at the gigs. Fans can enjoy 'New Born' and fettuccine alfredo at the same time!" We both laughed loudly.

"So you said you were in a photo shoot?"

Matt snorted and nodded. "Apparently I was voted this month's 'Sexiest Rocker' for this obscure music magazine and I had to come in and do a cover shoot. Look for me wearing a leather jacket while sitting on a motorcycle on newsstands next week! So, what do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer." Matt grimaced a little at my words. "I cannot stand legal issues", he replied. "There's always some sort of law restricting me from doing something creative, especially with gigs. We wanted a zeppelin for our stadium shows, we got shot down. We wanted to fly in on jetpacks, we got shot down. We did giant flamethrowers for Leeds, we got partially shot down and had to use smaller ones for Reading."

"Believe me, I would love nothing more than to see you guys enter a gig on jetpacks and melt the stage", I giggled.

"Have you ever been to a gig of ours?"

I nodded. "I saw you guys in Newark last year. My favorite moment was when you played 'Citizen Erased'."

Matt smiled. "That was a last minute change to the set list. We hadn't played it in the States for years and we were trying to see if it was a good idea to bring it back."

"It was a VERY good idea! How is the new album coming along?"

"Very nicely. We have a few songs recorded. We are taking it a bit slow since me and Chris have families to tend to that we've neglected while touring. We haven't forgotten about you guys though."

"When do you think the album will be released?"

Matt chuckled. "That is a secret not even Tom knows."

As we waited for the elevator to be fixed, Matt and I continued to chat. He told me funny band stories while I talked about my interests and hobbies. Soon, the lights returned to full power and the elevator slowly descended to the lobby. We were still sitting when the doors opened and paramedics came inside to tend to us.

"No really, I'm fine", I said as one of them tried to take my temperature. Matt was having similar trouble shaking off a persistent paramedic with a stethoscope.

"It really wasn't that bad", Matt said. He glanced over at me. "It was quite fun actually."

When the emergency personal were convinced that we were fine, they finally left. Amber rushed up to me, tears in her eyes. "Thank goodness you are okay!" she gasped. "Tony said he will speak to your clients today so you can rest after your traumatic experience!"

"Amber it's okay-." Matt appeared next to me. "Thank you", he said kindly to Amber. "I am going to take her out to lunch and I will make sure she is safe." Amber smiled at me and headed towards the stairs.

Matt turned to me. "Ever since you mentioned 'Pasta Belly', I have had such a craving for Italian. Why don't we go there and you can spend the afternoon with me and the band?"

I took a smiling Matt by the arm and began walking out the door. "I should get stuck in the elevator more often!"


End file.
